Mass Gov. Patrick: $73M For Affordable Housing

Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick says the state is committing $73 million dollars to build or preserve affordable housing.

Patrick planned to announce the plan on Thursday at an apartment complex in Cambridge. The administration says a total of two dozen projects in 17 Massachusetts communities would add or save more than 1,100 affordable housing units and create nearly 2,000 construction jobs in the process.

The program would tap more than $22 million in state or federal tax credits for low-income housing and more than $5 million in housing subsidies.

Patrick also plans to sign into law a housing bond bill recently approved by the Legislature. The measure would allow the state to borrow up to $1.4 billion over five years to build new low-income housing or rehabilitate existing units.